breach
Americannoun
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breaches
plural
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the act or a result of breaking; a break or rupture.
Many districts were flooded by the river after a breach in an embankment upstream.
- Synonyms:
- fracture
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an infraction or violation, such as of a law, contract, trust, or promise.
If there is a breach of the warranty, we are not liable for damage.
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a gap made in a wall, fortification, line of soldiers, etc.; rift; fissure.
A breach in the castle walls gave the enemy an entrance.
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Digital Technology. the unauthorized acquisition, use, or disclosure of customers' or users' personal data.
There's no indication of a data breach affecting credit card information.
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a severance of friendly relations.
- Synonyms:
- dissension, separation, schism, rift, split, alienation
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the leap of a whale above the surface of the water.
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Archaic. the breaking of waves; the dashing of surf.
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Obsolete. wound.
verb (used with object)
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breaches,
present (3rd person singular)
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breached,
past participle, past
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breaching
present participle
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to make a rupture or opening in.
We need new ways to recover salmon without breaching the dams.
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to break or act contrary to (a law, promise, etc.).
The plaintiff alleges that the defendant has breached the terms of their license.
verb (used without object)
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breaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
breached,
past participle, past
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breaching
present participle
idioms
noun
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a crack, break, or rupture
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a breaking, infringement, or violation of a promise, obligation, etc
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any severance or separation
there was a breach between the two factions of the party
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a gap in an enemy's fortifications or line of defence created by bombardment or attack
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the act of a whale in breaking clear of the water
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the breaking of sea waves on a shore or rock
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an obsolete word for wound 1
verb
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(tr) to break through or make an opening, hole, or incursion in
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(tr) to break a promise, law, etc
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(intr) (of a whale) to break clear of the water
Usage
What does breach mean? A breach is a physical break or rupture, as in the hull of a ship. It also means a violation or infraction, as in a breach of trust. It can also be used as a verb referring to the action that leads to each of these things. Breach is often used in phrases like security breach, data breach, breach of trust, breach of etiquette, and breach of contract. Example: We view these ethical violations as an unforgivable breach of the public trust, and we call on the senator to resign.
Synonym Usage
Breach, infraction, violation, transgression all denote in some way the breaking of a rule or law or the upsetting of a normal and desired state. Breach is used infrequently in reference to laws or rules, more often in connection with desirable conditions or states of affairs: a breach of the peace, of good manners, of courtesy. Infraction most often refers to clearly formulated rules or laws: an infraction of the criminal code, of university regulations, of a labor contract. Violation, a stronger term than either of the preceding two, often suggests intentional, even forceful or aggressive, refusal to obey the law or to respect the rights of others: repeated violations of parking regulations; a human rights violation. Transgression, with its root sense of “a stepping across (of a boundary of some sort),” applies to any behavior that exceeds the limits imposed by a law, especially a moral law, a commandment, or an order; it often implies sinful behavior: a serious transgression of social customs, of God's commandments.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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breachsimple
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breachessimple
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have breachedperfect
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has breachedperfect
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am breachingprogressive
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are breachingprogressive
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is breachingprogressive
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have been breachingperfect progressive
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has been breachingperfect progressive
Past
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breachedsimple
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had breachedperfect
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was breachingprogressive
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were breachingprogressive
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had been breachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of breach
First recorded before 1000; Middle English breche, Old English bræc “breaking”; see break ( def. )
Explanation
A breach is a violation of a law, duty, or promise. If you'd contracted to mow your neighbor's lawn and don't do it, he can sue you for breach of contract. Or he can mow the lawn himself. Breach traces back to the Old English verb: brecan, "to break," which is what breach really means — "a breaking of something." Breach of contract is a legal way of saying you broke a promise. If your great aunt Edna is a stickler for propriety, she may be horrified when you eat your meat with the salad fork, considering it a breach of good manners.
Vocabulary lists containing breach
100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A Lisinski Law spokesperson said the firm couldn’t discuss the details of the Ortiz Jara case, saying it would be a breach of attorney-client privilege.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Mopac said the force had failed to set out its procurement strategy, describing this as a "clear and serious breach" of procedure.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Refuting claims that the exits were related to safety, the AI firm said an internal probe had uncovered "a significant breach of trust" beyond what they had disclosed.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
“Failure by a company to publish inside information as soon as possible in the form of an ad hoc disclosure constitutes a breach of the Market Abuse Regulation,” it said in a statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
‘It is a mile long or more, and the breach in it is wide.’
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
That horizontal movement is how most serious cyber breaches spread.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
But the South Korean government said this week it was "highly likely" Artex had been used in data breaches at more than seven financial institutions, including major banks.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Zanjani’s network established its presence on the exchange after Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to U.S. anti-money-laundering violations and sanctions breaches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Mikel Arteta says his conscience is clear over Manchester City's Premier League rule breaches during a period when he was assistant manager at the club.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
But if the trailer breaches, I'll be fine.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
They were also not told for 16 months about test results commissioned by the trust that showed their exposure had breached safety thresholds.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Narayan on Monday warned that "it seems likely, if not inevitable, that our own cyber defences will be breached".
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
Newport Beach spent the weekend working around the clock to protect homes after waves breached the city’s defenses along Balboa Peninsula.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Snowflake previously said its platform had not been breached.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
She watched it, frozen with fear, and then it breached the surface.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
The pace bowler has since been charged by the Cricket Regulator with breaching England and Wales Cricket Board professional conduct rules.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
The previous 32-week sentence he was released from early had been suspended but he was jailed for breaching its terms.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
"Where costs rise above the ceiling, refiners and importers will carry the shortfall and recover it later when crude prices or exchange rates allow without breaching the ceiling," he said,
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The lawsuit alleged LaBeouf accused Barnett of breaching their settlement agreement by violating its nondisclosure provisions after she gave an interview to the Hollywood Reporter that was published in October 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
“They look like they might be breaching the north battlements, they’ve brought giants of their own!”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
